Christina Bohannan, a University of Iowa law professor, is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District for the third consecutive election cycle. She previously lost to Republican incumbent Mariannette Miller-Meeks in 2022 by approximately 23,000 votes and in 2024 by 799 votes following a recount. The second narrow defeat prompted Bohannan to seek another term, particularly after observing voter crossover in urban and suburban areas.
The district spans a geographic area larger than Massachusetts and encompasses more than half rural counties with populations under 20,000 residents, along with urban and suburban centers including Iowa City and Davenport. Trump won the district by 8.4 percentage points in 2024. Bohannan’s campaign strategy has shifted to include earlier ground outreach, beginning canvassing in January rather than April, and increased focus on rural counties where she underperformed previously. In her two prior campaigns, she secured over 70 percent support in Johnson County, home to Iowa City, and has been attempting to build support in Scott County, the district’s most populous area.
Bohannan, a 55-year-old former environmental engineer whose legal scholarship focuses on intellectual property and business law, emphasizes her rural Florida upbringing and family experience with economic hardship. She characterizes herself as pragmatic on fiscal matters, stating that tax dollars warrant careful stewardship and that excessive regulation can hinder economic growth. Miller-Meeks has described Bohannan as a “radical progressive” but declined to participate in an interview.
Democrats view the seat as potentially winnable due to what analysts characterize as challenging conditions for the incumbent. Bohannan’s campaign points to inflation concerns, trade policy impacts on Iowa agriculture—including reduced soybean sales from tariffs—and energy prices as vulnerabilities for Miller-Meeks. Democratic voter registration in Iowa has outpaced Republican registration ahead of primary elections, with the trend continuing in Scott County. The race is considered among the country’s most competitive House contests.
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